I’m ditching my Fitbit Air for the Garmin Cirqa

After what could easily have been described as the worst-kept secret in the world of wearable tech, the Garmin Cirqa smart band has officially been announced following a near-comical amount of leaks. I’ve had it on my wrist for almost 24 hours, and if initial impressions stay the course, then it’s set to replace my Fitbit Air for good.

For those not in the know, this is Garmin’s long-awaited rival to the Whoop Strap, which has dominated the world of screenless fitness trackers, almost without competition, for over a decade. I say almost because the tides are now changing, with particular attention paid towards offering a more affordable alternative given that Whoop’s minimum £169/$199 annual subscription is just too costly for a lot of people.

The first big-brand competitor to hit the market was the Fitbit Air, which arrived just a few months ago, bringing along a completely revamped Google Health app along for the ride. I absolutely loved my time with the Air, and I’ve been using it since that review period to help stay on top of my overall fitness, which, at a time when I’m working freelance hours and caring for a baby, has been tough.

As a big fan of Garmin smartwatches, however (I currently love the Garmin Venu X1), I’ve been very eager to see what Garmin’s interpretation of the concept would look like, and after my short time with it, here are three reasons why the Cirqa is replacing the Fitbit Air on my wrist.

Thomas Deehan / Foundry

It makes good on the “no subscription” promise

As much as I love the Whoop Strap, the fact that the device becomes about as useful as a paperweight if you stop paying for the subscription is absurd, and it’s exactly why the Fitbit Air, without such terms attached and a very reasonable £84/$99 asking price, is such a tempting prospect to a lot of people.

The problem, however, is that while you do get a decent fitness tracking experience right out of the box, the true power of the Fitbit Air doesn’t really come into focus unless you fork out for the additional Google Health Coach service, which carries a monthly cost of £7.99/$9.99 (or an annual fee).

By comparison, the Garmin Cirqa offers a far more robust fitness tracking experience with all of the bells and whistles you could possibly want.

Just like with having a Garmin watch in tow, you’re getting access to all of the workout details that are perfect for those who want to make gains wherever possible, with insights into everything from the estimated sweat loss to whether or not the exercise pushed your body to its highest threshold.

Thomas Deehan / Foundry

In terms of guidance, you’ve got the classic Sleep Coach, which can let you know right away if you’re meeting your targets and where you can hope to improve if not, but there’s also Training Readiness, which is crucial to understanding if your body is capable of taking on a challenging workout, or if you should prioritise recovery.

There is the Garmin Connect+ subscription available for AI-driven insights, but just like how I’ve been using the Venu X1, the Garmin Cirqa provides so much already that I’ve never felt any need to fork out. The same can’t be said of the Fitbit Air.

A physical button – finally!

Anyone who’s had to scroll through a long list of available workouts at the start of a parkrun or a trip to the gym will know that the process oftentimes gets in the way of your momentum, and that goes doubly so for screenless fitness trackers where you either need to begin tracking a workout from your phone’s corresponding app or just remember the start/end times and add it in later.

Well, Garmin’s just made the whole thing a heck of a lot easier. They don’t have to be button-free as well as screen-free.

Unlike the Whoop Strap or the Fitbit Air, there’s a single physical button on the side of the Cirqa that, when pressed, starts tracking a workout. You’ll feel a slight vibration to let you know that it’s not tracking your heart rate and other metrics, and when you want to end the workout, just press the button again.

It’s unbelievably simple, but it works so well – no faff, just hit the button and get straight to exercising and figure out the details later.

Thomas Deehan / Foundry

As someone who’s been reviewing smartwatches for close to a decade, there’s something oddly refreshing about this scaled-back approach, and I may even put the Venu X1 in a drawer to see if I can get away with using the Cirqa for all my fitness tracking and return to the days of using a digital watch.

A nice uptick in battery life

This feature isn’t quite as important as the other two, but when it comes to making sure that you get an uninterrupted look into your daily habits and how your body is responding to them, a good battery life is essential. It’s precisely for this reason that the Whoop Strap charging method operates in such a way that you never have to remove the device from your person.

Although the Fitbit Air doesn’t have quite as sophisticated a charging system, it can still run for up to seven days at a time. It’s not bad, but now that the Garmin Cirqa is here and can top that by going for up to 10 days.

That’s going by Garmin’s figure, since I’ve only just started testing, but the firm is well-known for strong longevity, so it’s a likely win. Plus, the Cirqa has Garmin’s standard four-pin charging, meaning I’ve already got an extra charger in the house.

Google might have taken the screenless fitness tracker market by storm earlier in 2026, but the Fitbit Air’s reign might be short-lived.